Crime Correspondent: Tampa

Ramiro Vanoy Murillo, 60, and Francisco Javier Zuluaga Lindo, 38, are among 14 paramilitary members extradited to the U.S.

Ramiro Vanoy Murillo, 60, and Francisco Javier Zuluaga Lindo, 38, are among 14 paramilitary members extradited to the U.S. in May for their alleged roles in a massive cocaine smuggling operation in the late 1990s. The two entered their pleas before U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore in downtown Miami.Under a plea agreement, Vanoy Murillo faces up to 19 years and Zuluaga Lindo more than 17 years behind bars. Prosecutors said they would drop additional charges against the two at sentencing. Each could also face up to $4 million in fines.The Bush administration agreed it would not seek life sentences as a precondition of their extradition. But on Tuesday, Moore reminded the defendants that he was not bound by the plea agreement in deciding sentencing. A lean, bespectacled Vanoy Murillo, sporting a shaved head, and a husky Zuluaga Lindo attended the hearings quietly. Both wore standard beige jumpsuits, their feet in shackles and spoke only in response to the judge's questions. At one point, asked his level of education, Vanoy Murillo responded: "I did not attend school. I am learning to read now in prison."The two are accused of conspiring to import thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the U.S. through Mexico. According to the defendants' attorney Dennis Urbano, Zuluaga Lindo offered to provide a boat for transport. Vanoy Murillo offered to sell some of the cocaine. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said he decided to extradite the men because they were still committing crimes from Colombian prisons and had failed to pay restitution to victims. The rest of the 14 were extradited to Tampa, Washington, Houston and New York. So far, Diego Murillo, 47, is the only other member of the extradited group to have pleaded guilty. He entered his plea in June to drug trafficking charges in Manhattan federal court and faces a sentence of up to 33 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 18. Human rights organizations claimed Diego Murillo was behind hundreds of murders in Colombia as part of the right-wing United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, known by the Spanish acronym AUC.Thousands of Colombians have lodged formal complaints of "atrocious crimes" against the paramilitaries _ including murder, rape and kidnapping. Hundreds of mass graves are thought to remain hidden in Colombia.

Ramiro Vanoy Murillo, 60, and Francisco Javier Zuluaga Lindo, 38, are among 14 paramilitary members extradited to the U.S.

Ramiro Vanoy Murillo, 60, and Francisco Javier Zuluaga Lindo, 38, are among 14 paramilitary members extradited to the U.S. in May for their ...

Christopher J. Benbow was snared in a 2004 sting by the Drug Enforcement Administration

Christopher J. Benbow was snared in a 2004 sting by the Drug Enforcement Administration in which authorities said he tried to arrange a deal for 1,000 kilograms of cocaine. Court documents say his purpose was to raise more than $200 million in cash for the black-market purchase of 9 kilograms of strontium 90. An 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel agreed Monday with Benbow's contention that the federal jury in Tampa, Fla., that convicted him in October 2006 should have been told the cocaine was to be distributed outside the United States. But the three-judge panel also noted that there is a good chance Benbow might be convicted again because of evidence that he "was part of a conspiracy to buy cocaine in the United States and to have it transported outside this country." According to court documents:Benbow, in his mid-60s, was living in Estonia in the fall of 2003 when he learned that Russian former KGB agents were trying to sell three containers of strontium, which could be used by terrorists to make a dirty bomb.As he tried to find a buyer and earn a commission, a friend steered him to David Siegel, who claimed to have connections to the Israeli military but actually was a DEA informant.Siegel suggested that the Russians trade the strontium for cocaine, but they would accept only cash. Benbow then found some potential buyers for the cocaine in the United Kingdom. A plan evolved to transfer the cocaine to Europe and sell it for cash that the undercover informant's group would use to buy the strontium.U.S. authorities never established whether the strontium sale would occur. Benbow and four other men were arrested in the drug conspiracy.

Christopher J. Benbow was snared in a 2004 sting by the Drug Enforcement Administration

Christopher J. Benbow was snared in a 2004 sting by the Drug Enforcement Administration in which authorities said he tried to arrange a deal...

William Matute-Rankin head of a major cocaine-transportation ring organized boat crews, refueling operations and provided logistical support

William Matute-Rankin was extradited to the United States from Panama in September to face the drug charges. He was found guilty in January....

Jessica Ann Sierra

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj038txcIS1o0bmZBpCbWujw7hV7Rfn1Z7YazHa2-HICbAKpMCHEBSsyucmyCVVNqkkZCkpJubOyabxolBBh5XlcBVj6wGpQ16MTbbVD8pmI8FQwxbEz4bAc-pcwWj75Z5WM08s8Ee6YwY/s1600-h/482113385_8ae0819f3b.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156154811138895522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj038txcIS1o0bmZBpCbWujw7hV7Rfn1Z7YazHa2-HICbAKpMCHEBSsyucmyCVVNqkkZCkpJubOyabxolBBh5XlcBVj6wGpQ16MTbbVD8pmI8FQwxbEz4bAc-pcwWj75Z5WM08s8Ee6YwY/s320/482113385_8ae0819f3b.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" /></a> Jessica Ann Sierra born in Tempa, Florida is the American singer and the tenth-place finalist of the fourth season of American Idol. She was eliminated on March 30 2005. She was arrested on December 2007 again while she was on probation for 12 months from the previous arrest. She did a contempt of court by allegedly causing disturbances at one of the saloons in Florida named Full Moon, the police were called in and she was asked to leave when she refused to leave the spot, then the police arrested her again. She also failed to attend the court procedural hearing on battery and drug charges. This time she was given 1 year probation by a lenient judge. The probation was given in April to Jessica Sierra when partying with friends at Hyde Park Café in Tampa, where she used a cocktail glass as a weapon to hit the head of Wisam Hadad breaking the glass and causing a gash above the eyes of the victim believing him to be someone else. She was charged for many such crimes like felony battery with deadly weapon, possession of cocaine and introduction of contraband into a detention facility, of obstructing or opposing an officer and intoxicating disorderly misdemeanors. She committed crimes which were non-bailable offences as per the law of the U.S, so she is in jail serving her terms of sentence. In addition to this, the 22 year old Jessica Sierra has to complete her drug rehabilitation after care program.

Jessica Ann Sierra

Jessica Ann Sierra born in Tempa, Florida is the American singer and the tenth-place finalist of the fourth season of American Idol. She was...

Shawnte Beckham, Tanisha Carleston, Michael Corbett, Marisabel Corbett, Marie Lafond

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOPXE8zTkacxK0CL85V-FsXgnbBSMtJXkcBRW_3LEIBvHpQEKQAdcBu_emqEI4qSuo29PF4Kx-F-ssSJ6w0dBjtQxOcYSP9QD5p9O9aueQLJbUe_ds33qPGoNvYYlMM4O73PXPN_e4Vuo/s1600-h/010308neglect5.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5151340698260924802" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOPXE8zTkacxK0CL85V-FsXgnbBSMtJXkcBRW_3LEIBvHpQEKQAdcBu_emqEI4qSuo29PF4Kx-F-ssSJ6w0dBjtQxOcYSP9QD5p9O9aueQLJbUe_ds33qPGoNvYYlMM4O73PXPN_e4Vuo/s320/010308neglect5.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" /></a> Michael Corbett, 38, his wife, Marisabel, 26, and another woman, Marie Lafond, 20, saying they were growing marijuana and selling cocaine with children present, arrest affidavits state. Michael Corbett was being held at Orient Road Jail this morning, with bail set at $15,500. His wife and Lafond also were being held, and bail for each was set at $8,000 bail, jail records show. All five people also are charged with felony drug charges. About 6:40 p.m. Wednesday, a Tampa police officer on foot tapped on the driver's side window of a 1997 Buick at North Tampa and East Tyler streets after smelling a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle, affidavits state. When Beckham rolled down the window, a "smoke cloud" drifted out of the car, the affidavits state. There was an 8-year-old girl in the rear seat, police said. The officer found a small plastic bag of marijuana and a plastic pill bottle containing oxycodone inside the car, as well as a brown paper bag with six small plastic bags of marijuana inside Beckham's purse, police said. About 7 p.m. Wednesday, deputies conducted a search warrant at a house at 7328 Exeter Way, where the Corbetts and Lafond live, the affidavits state. They found cocaine packaged for sale, marijuana being grown in a bedroom and marijuana pipes in the kitchen and bedroom, the affidavits state.Tampa police on Wednesday arrested Tanisha Carleston, 28, and Shawnte Beckham, 29, both of Tampa, during a traffic stop in which they found an 8-year-old child and marijuana in their car, affidavits state. The women were being held without bail at Orient Road Jail this morning.

Shawnte Beckham, Tanisha Carleston, Michael Corbett, Marisabel Corbett, Marie Lafond

Michael Corbett, 38, his wife, Marisabel, 26, and another woman, Marie Lafond, 20, saying they were growing marijuana and selling cocaine w...

Serafin Mantero,Cecil Richardson

Serafin Mantero, 41, and Cecil Richardson, 39, returned to Tampa on Thursday with two partners and enough cash to buy two kilograms, or 4.4 pounds, for $21,000, police said. Richardson, who stands 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 315 pounds, has been arrested at least 36 times and has cocaine convictions dating to 1986, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcemen The drug deal took place at 401 S. 50th St., south of the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway, where Mantero and Richardson were arrested with Calvin J. Harris, 32, and Michael R. Albury, 22, authorities said. Police seized $33,000 in cash from the men, according to arrest reports. All four were charged with first-degree felony trafficking and conspiracy to traffic in cocaine.Serafin Mantero, 41, Cecil Vaughn Richardson, 39, Michael Renard Albury, 22, and Calvin Jerome Harris, 32, are each facing two counts of trafficking in cocaine and are being held without bond. Investigators say Mantero and Richardson, who has an extensive arrest record, allegedly purchased a kilogram of the illegal narcotic from undercover detectives on December 18.

Serafin Mantero,Cecil Richardson

Serafin Mantero, 41, and Cecil Richardson, 39, returned to Tampa on Thursday with two partners and enough cash to buy two kilograms, or 4.4 ...